^""seprisss ™' }        Cultivation  of  Stai'  Anise  in  Annam.  447 
This  being  established,  it  appears  more  than  probable  that  if  a  piece  of 
camphor  is  perfectly  free  from  oily  matter  it  will  dissolve  in  water 
more  readily  than  if  protected  by  a  greasy  film.  The  slightest  film  of 
thisnaturCj  in  contact  with  camphor,  becomes  a  saturated  oily  solution 
of  camphor,  and  if  any  excess  exists,  over  what  will  cover  the  camphor, 
the  film  will  extend  over  the  surface  of  the  water. 
When  things  are  in  this  condition,  if  an  electrified  rod  is  dipped 
several  times  in  the  water,  every  immersion  will  remove  a  portion  of 
oily  film  from  the  surface,  until  finally  the  film  on  each  piece  of 
camphor  becomes  so  thin  that  the  water  reaches  the  pieces  of  camphor, 
and  these  immediately  becomes  gifted  with  motion. — Jour.  Am.  Chem. 
Soc,  1885,  p.  13.  
THE  CULTIVATION  OF  THE  STAR  ANISE  TREE  AND 
THE  PREPARATION  OF  THE  OIL  IN  ANNAM.^ 
The  star  anise,  or  badiane,  called  by  the  Annamites  ^'  bac-giai-qua  " 
or  qua-hoi,'^  is  the  fruit  of  a  tall  tree  that  is  cultivated  in  the  moun- 
tainous regions  of  Annam,  upon  the  slopes  covered  with  earth.  The 
natives  affirm  that  it  is  nowhere  met  with  in  the  mountains  in  the  wild 
state.  At  the  village  of  Na-nam,  in  the  mandarin  route,  twelve  kilo- 
metres from  Lang-son  it  has  been  ascertained  by  inspection  that  the 
seedlings  and  young  trees  are  the  objects  of  attention  by  the  Annam- 
ites, who  surround  them  with  bamboos;  also  that  the  larger  trees  are 
planted  in  a  regular  manner. 
The  "  qua-hoi,"  the  trunk  of  which  is  as  straight  as  that  of  the 
poplar,  bears  branches  resembling  those  of  the  eucalyptus.  It  is  met 
with  everywhere  in  the  mountains  around  Ha-long,  Dong. dang,  Van- 
quan  and  Pho-vi,  which  are  the  principal  centres  of  culture  and  pro- 
duction. The  oil  is  prepared  at  Lang-son,  Ki-lun,  Dong-dang  and 
Ha-long,  industrial  centres  of  manufacture. 
During  ten  years,  the  bac-giai-qua  grows  very  slowly.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  it  attains  a  height  of  about  three  metres.  Up  to  that 
time  it  produces  very  little,  scarcely  yielding  more  than  one  or  two 
Annamite  kilograms  (1,200  grams).  From  its  tenth  year  its  size  and 
its  production  increase  rapidly  up  to  thirty  or  forty  years,  at  which 
age  the  tree  commences  to  fall  off  and  die.  A  tree  of  ten  to  fifteen 
centimetres  diameter  yields  an  average  of  twenty  Annamite  kilograms 
1  From  the  Petit  Moniteur  de  la  Pharmacie^  July. 
